Rick Holmes: The best books read in 2009 ...

Monday

Dec 28, 2009 at 12:01 AMDec 28, 2009 at 2:34 PM

A confession: The small table by my bedside holds a stack of reading material that grows and grows. It's got newspaper articles I'm sure I'll get to, magazines abandoned halfway through, a book I was fired up about when summer vacation ended, 100 pages from the end, that I haven't returned to since and a couple of books recommended by friends.

Rick Holmes

A confession: The small table by my bedside holds a stack of reading material that grows and grows. It's got newspaper articles I'm sure I'll get to, magazines abandoned half-way through, a book I was fired up about when summer vacation ended, 100 pages from the end, that I haven't returned to since and a couple of books recommended by friends.

The reading stack piles up until I can't read the time on the front of my bedside clock, and until the papers start falling to the floor when I reach over to slam the snooze button.

So I understand it's hard to find the time to read even the books you really want to read. That's why I was delighted some years back when I discovered books on tape. I spend at least an hour a day in my car, and if you count listening to someone else read a book as reading -- and I do -- I've read a long list of terrific books while getting from here to there.

Audiobooks are expensive. I was tempted to buy Stephen King's "Under the Dome" the other day, but $75 is just too much. So my literary appetite leads me every few weeks to the public library, where they have a fine, ever-changing collection of books on CD at just the right price: Free.

I don't often find exactly what I'm looking for, but I regularly find books I wouldn't have noticed in a bookstore that turn out to give me hours of pleasure. My wife knows that when I volunteer to run an errand at least an hour's drive from home, it's usually because I can't wait to get back to my book. One piece of advice: Go for the unabridged versions; if it's a good book, you'll finish the abridged version with a deep dissatisfaction, wondering what you missed.

Now here's some other advice. For the third year in a row, I've asked colleagues on the MetroWest Daily News staff and our associated blogs to share a few words on the best book they've read this year. This isn't a best-seller list, and the books weren't necessarily even published this year. There's nothing wrong with reading a good book, whatever its age. But if you've got a bookstore gift card rattling around in your wallet, or if you're headed down to your public library to pick out an audiobook, here are some suggestions:

"The Yankee Years"

Reading about the Yankees might not be something some Red Sox fans want to do during the holidays, especially after watching New York win the World Series this fall, but "The Yankee Years," by Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci and former Yankee and current Dodger manager Joe Torre, provides a fascinating insight into the other half of what could be the greatest rivalry in sports.

Red Sox rooters will find especially interesting Torre's insights into the Yankees' comeback victory over the Red Sox in the 2003 American League Championship Series and Boston's epic victory over New York in the 2004 ALCS after trailing in the series 3-0. Torre is also pretty candid about his relationships with the stars of the Yankees and the Steinbrenner family, something which eventually caused him to leave New York for Los Angeles.

- Art Davidson

"Olive Kitteridge"

Southern crazy has always been my genre of choice for a fun read, but Elizabeth Strout made me a fan of Maine stream of life tales with "Olive Kitteridge." Spare but spot-on prose gives the reader room to think.

A snippet from page 193 is likely enough to tell you whether it should be on your to-read list: "Anita was in the driveway holding the rifle with both her hands, but carefully, sort of, not aiming at anything. 'Hi there,' she said. Her eyes were shiny, and there were drops of sweat in the pale pockets of skin right below them."

- Julia Spitz

"The Inheritors"

William Golding's 1955 novel "The Inheritors" is remarkably original, bold and barely read today. Coming shortly after the international success of his debut novel, "Lord of the Flies," Golding imagined the minds of a band of Neanderthals struggling to survive the Ice Age with the vestigial language and technical skills we associate with humanity. Yet by a great inventive leap, Golding brings them alive as thoughtful primitives trapped by their genetic limitations. Then a superior, more ruthless species, Homo sapiens, our ancestors, invades their precarious world as actually happened, leading to the extinction of our evolutionary cousins. Golding has written the ultimate Stone Age novel of manners in which related but distinct races can't find common ground, resulting in one group's destruction and the other group's corruption.

Writing after World War II about something that happened about 40,000 years ago, Golding reimagined the dynamic that drives human history.

- Chris Bergeron

"The Good Soldiers"

In a bad year for books, I thought that David Finkel's "The Good Soldiers" was not only the best Iraq book written yet, and not only the best war correspondent book written in 30 years, but also the first truly outstanding example of gonzo journalism to surface since Hunter S. Thompson went off to the Swiss Girls Boarding School in the sky.

I've actually read the book about three times, which is weird for me, but one of the things I've been pondering is the originality of the writing. Finkel describes the quiet before the battle as "the sound of glass bending." Think about that for awhile.

- Rob Meltzer

"Fugitives and Refugees"

I really enjoyed "Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon." The book is written by Chuck Palahniuk, the author of "Fight Club" and other novels, but in this one he discusses his hometown of Portland, Ore.

If you have read any of his fiction books, you will know he has an odd sense of humor, and reading "Fugitives and Refugees" you get a glimpse of the experiences and the people who have made him that way. He takes you into some hidden places and little known history/myths about his hometown. I have visited Portland and would never have guessed about some of the wacky things that go on in the Rose City. The book does not hold any punches, so I would not recommend it for children or teenagers.

- Charlie Breitrose

"Duma Key"

Stephen King's "Duma Key" is a spooky ghost story that revolves around a man who suffers a brain injury and loss of an arm in an industrial accident, which sets in motion major life changes including a divorce, sale of his business and eventual move to the lonely island of Duma Key in Florida.

There he finds he can commune with spirits at first thought to be beneficial, but come on, this is a Stephen King novel, you know those spirits have their own agenda. "Duma Key" is well-paced, insightful and filled with a sense of doom that never really fades even after you've finished the last page. King is a master of character development and he has you rooting for the protagonist Edgar Freemantle even though you know the former contractor's rebirth as a successful artist can only be temporary.

This is a good follow-up read for those who enjoyed his previous novel, "Lisey's Story." In an interview, King said "Lisey's Story" - a story about a writer with supernatural powers that allow him to escape to another, dark world - was ultimately about marriage whereas Duma Key is a divorce novel. If you've got an extra 28 hours to spare, go for the unabridged audio book.

- Rob Haneisen

"All the President's Men"

It probably seems a cliche coming from a newspaper reporter, but "All the President's Men" was the best book I read this year. The book, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, reveals a lot more than the classic movie. For example, the reporters were not always correct with their information about Watergate. But the book shows just how much they put on the line for what they believed in -- hard work that eventually paid off.

- Paul Crocetti

"My Life in France"

The best - and, I admit, the only - book I read this year was "My Life in France" by Julia Child. Although the hype was around "Julie & Julia" this year, all the discussion of Julia Child made me interested in her (not some New Yorker who wanted to cook like her).

A friend who has spent some time with Julia recommended "My Life in France" and warned me I'd long to travel to Provence and other parts of France if I read it. He wasn't kidding! Not only was I left drooling with hunger after every chapter, but it took all of my will power (and realization that the bank account was low) to not book a flight and spend a couple months in France. It was fascinating to learn how she fell in love with food and the journey she took that led her to writing renowned cookbooks and appearing on PBS to teach housewives how to cook a la France.

- Nicole Simmons

"Netherland"

I recommend "Netherland" by Joseph O'Neill. After learning it was the only work of fiction on President Obama's summer reading list, I picked up the book. It takes place in New York City both pre- and post-9/11. The book takes on the complexities of life in a major city, the effects of 9/11 on city residents, the immigrant community and what simmers under the surface of everyday life.

- Liz Banks

"The Post-American World"

It has become common of late to talk about the decline of America, a discussion that typically is nothing more than the pessimistic flip-side to boosterist rhetoric of America triumphant. In "The Post-American World," Fareed Zakaria takes a more nuanced view. It's not about America's decline, the editor of Newsweek International writes, but "the rise of the rest" -- China, India, Brazil and the other emerging economic powers.

Raised in India, educated in the U.S. and reporting from around the world, Zakaria sees the coming era with eyes unblindered by American exceptionalism. He cites America's strengths -- higher education, immigration, a culture that values innovation -- while telling us things Americans need to know about the rest of the world. Zakaria offers big-picture ideas, backed by anecdotes and statistics, in accessible prose.

- Rick Holmes

"The Unlikely Disciple"

The best book I read this year is "The Unlikely Disciple" by Kevin Roose. Roose, a sophomore at Brown University, decides to transfer to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. - the world's largest evangelical Christian college.

Roose gives up drinking, dancing and R-rated movies for a whole semester, and opens himself whole-heartedly and does his best to live as an evangelical Christian. Roose sings in the Rev. Falwell's church choir, takes classes about evangelism, and even spends his spring break in Florida trying to "save" people.

In the end, Roose doesn't become a devout Jesus follower, but he sheds light on how the students at Liberty live and what their beliefs are. This is a book that both evangelical Christians and non-believers alike are reading to "figure out how the others live."

- Krista Perry

"Wesley the Owl"

I recommend "Wesley the Owl," a tale about a biologist who adopts an abandoned, injured owlet and their almost 20-year relationship. Also, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," which is, needless to say, a unique take on the classic tale.

- Julie Cohen

"The Book Thief"

The best book I read this year was "The Book Thief," by Markus Zusak. It's actually a story in the "young adult" genre, but our book club of middle-aged ladies loved it.

It tells the story, through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl, of a German family who hides a Jewish man during World War II. It very movingly depicts the poverty in Germany during that period, and how many everyday Germans were confused and scared about what was going on. The Nazis are not depicted sympathetically at all, but its portrait of ordinary Germans is a far cry from "Hitler's Willing Executioners."

- Cathy Buday

Rick Holmes, opinion editor of the MetroWest Daily News, blogs at Holmes & Co. (http://blogs.townonline.com/holmesandco). He can be reached at rholmes@cnc.com.